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Posts Tagged ‘gastrointestinal disorders’

To manage Crohn’s disease, it’s important to assemble a group of essential items that help with symptoms of stomach cramps, indigestion, and frequent diarrhea. On Amazon, you can find thousands of vitamins, personal care items, and informational resources that aid people with Inflammatory BowelDisease (IBD). Whether you’re looking for a good ice pack for hemorrhoids or a travel bidet for Crohn’s flare-ups, you’ll find these items amazingly helpful.

If you’re taking plenty of extra vitamin B12 as part of your Crohn’s disease survival plan, then great! In addition to preventing vitamin B12 deficiency, your IBD prevention and management plan should include some of the following indispensable health tools.

Washmate Portable Bidet in a Bottle (300 ml)

Keep yourself clean at work, while out to eat, or on-the-go. What makes this product especially helpful is the small packaging- you can discreetly slip this into your purse or laptop bag without attracting attention on the way to the bathroom. This is a must for all people who suffer from chronic Crohn’s disease. Order on Amazon

What customers say about this:” It fits comfortably in one hand, and it holds more than enough water to clean you up very well… it makes washing up at the commode SO EASY, especially if your abdominal mobility is jeopardized. This is super helpful!”

Drip Drop Hydration 4 Powder Packs

Dehydration is one of the most debilitating ailments that result from GI illnesses that cause frequent episodes of diarrhea and vomiting. These hydration powder packets are easy to use, taste great, and are safe for adults and children alike. Order on Amazon

What customers said about this:“My children never would tolerate Pedialyte but they seem to like the taste of Drip Drop (it tastes like lemonade)”

Florastor Maximum Strength 250 Mg Capsules

Maintain a healthy balance of intestinal flora by taking these essential probiotic supplements. This is useful for sustaining digestive health and preventing gastrointestinal damage associated with chronic diarrhea, ulcers, and acid reflux from GERD or Crohn’s disease. Order on Amazon

What customers said about this: “Out of desperation I began trying probiotics. Within just a few days my heartburn was completely gone. I’ve been taking Florastor daily for almost a year now, and feel great.”

BodySport Ring Cushion

Give yourself a comfortable seat when your bottom really hurts. This pillow for your behind conforms easily, is washable, and will fit in most car seats or chairs. People like this because of its discreet design. This is great for relieving pain from hemorrhoids, coccyx injuries, colitis, or Crohn’s flare-ups. Order on Amazon

What customers said about this: “The red rubber and clear vinyl donuts scream ‘Hey everyone, I’m having trouble with my bottom.’ The BodySport Products Donut Cushion is by the most comfortable, durable and discreet.”

Your turn!

Do you suffer from Crohn’s? What helpful tools would you add to this IBD survival kit?

Do you have any questions or suggestions? Please leave your comments below.

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Usage of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is linked with B12 deficiency and other adverse effects, like osteoporosis. Your body produces stomach acids for good reason- to absorb vitamin B12 (cobalamin), iron and other essential nutrients. While heartburn is a painful symptom of acid reflux, having too few stomach acids can also cause debilitating symptoms.

What are PPIs?

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are drugs that lower the amount of stomach acid your body produces. It’s a popular treatment for preventing acid reflux symptoms like chronic heartburn, and it’s more effective than other acid secretion inhibitors like H2 blockers (Tagamet, Zantac). Hospitals use PPIs to prevent stomach ulcers in 40%-70% of inpatients. Examples of proton pump inhibitors are Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Aciphex, and Protonix.

What are possible adverse effects of PPIs?

Severe vitamin B12 deficiency

Long-term PPI usage has been linked with nutritional malabsorption of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and iron. Your body needs gastric acid in order to digest vitamin B12 foods sources like beef, chicken, fish, and eggs. Without stomach acids, vitamin B12 remains bonded to the food you eat and never enters the bloodstream, eventually resulting in vitamin B12 deficiency. Similarly, insufficient stomach acids also result in iron deficiency.

Because stomach acid production reduces with age, senior citizens, in addition to PPI users, are advised to check their vitamin B12 levels periodically. Other people at risk for B12 deficiency are vegans, people who suffer from autoimmune and gastrointestinaldisorders and anybody who has had gastricbypass or other gastrointestinal surgery.

Long-term PPI usage has been linked with increased risk of hip, spine, or wrist fractures resulting from severe osteoporosis. Researchers believe that PPIs inhibit calcium absorption and bone growth. In studies, high doses of PPIs were directly linked with osteoporosis, and that risk increased over time.

It should be noted that osteoporosis is also a vitamin B12 deficiency side effect from PPIs, as vitamin B12 benefits include sustained bone mass.

Increased chances of intestinal infection

Long-term and short-term PPI usage can lead to clostridium difficile infection (diarrhea), according to scientific studies published by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

If you stay at a hospital and are given proton pump inhibitors, your chances of acquiring pneumonia during your visit is increased by 30%, according to studies. While the use of PPIs for preventing stress-related ulcers is a valuable life-saving procedure, a significant amount of hospital patients who receive PPIs are not at risk for suffering from ulcers.

Rebound acid hypersecretion

If you try to wean off proton pump inhibitors, you’re likely to experience severe withdrawal effects, including sudden overproduction of stomach acids- hypergastrinemia. For this reason, PPI users become dependent on the heartburn drugs, and may suffer from adverse effects such as diarrhea, stomach tumors, and neoplasia. Dependence on PPIs happens quickly, as early as one month into prescription.

Heart disease

Studies have linked PPI usage with decreased effectiveness of clopidogrel (Plavix), a medication prescribed for heart disease. Also, decreased vitamin B12 is linked with increased risk for heart disease and stroke through elevated levels of homocysteine.

Please tell us…

Have you been diagnosed with GERD, or one of the other illnesses treated with PPIs? If so, have you noticed vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms like chronic fatigue, “pins and needles” in hands and feet, memory loss, and anxiety?

If you suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD), then you probably won’t appreciate extravagant (albeit well-meaning) gifts like World’s Largest Cheese Ball, Seven-Spice fruitcake, or a subscription to the Beer of the Month club. It’s hard for non-IBD sufferers to know what kind of gift to get for somebody with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Make it easier on them- print out this handy list, and avoid unnecessarily awkward gift-giving scenarios.

Who wouldn’t appreciate this lovely, aesthetically appealing gift of tea? Drop a tea bud into a pot of hot water, and watch as it slowly “blossoms” into a breathtaking underwater bouquet. Choose from an assortment of organic black, white, green or oolong teas.

Part of coping with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis means always being prepared for bathroom emergencies, and these flushable bathroom wipes are the best thing since sliced bread! This is a great stocking-stuffer for anybody with IBD.

Let’s face it- you can’t always count on hand soap. And while you’re ready to negotiate on comfort and convenience at rest stops, you’re not about to invite extra bouts of diarrhea from fecal contamination. These soap sheets from Travelon are amazing- they’re compact, they last forever, they dissolve easily with very little water, and one small pack contains 50 sheets! Also available- body wash, shampoo, conditioner, shaving lotion, and laundry soap.

Take your bathroom supplies with you without looking conspicuous. This leather toiletry bag lets you bring your basic bathroom necessities like flushable wipes and Travelon soap sheets without raising any eyebrows.

If you spend an inordinate amount of time in bed, then you’ll appreciate having a compact refrigerator for storing things like iced tea, water, meds, or a soothing snack. This cooler is great for people who live on a second floor, and don’t have the ability…or energy to climb up and down stairs. Or, keep this in your car for emergency trips to the hospital.

Uncle John has been entertaining restroom readers for 25 years, and it’s easy to see why. Each tome is chock full of miscellaneous bits of interesting stories, anecdotes, facts, trivia games, and mini biographies. It’s like having a compact library, right where you need it most. You’ll probably never get through the whole book, but if you do, there are dozens of Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers to choose from, including one for kids!

Not sure what to cook that won’t upset your tummy? Take the blah out of your staple dinner routine by following some of the innovatively healthy recipes in the Creative
Colitis Cookbook for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Got Colitis? Skip Tequila, Go for the Worm: Scientists believe they have a cure for Crohn’s disease and celiac,and it involves using parasitic hookworms. Here are some other surprising natural options for managing autoimmune disease.

Are we killing ourselves with hygiene?

Clean bottled drinking water, sub-zero refrigeration, anti-bacterial gels, dirt-free playgrounds, and sanitized kitchen counters- what do all these things all have in common?

If you guessed that these things all help to prevent disease, then guess again.

According to scientists, our standards of cleanliness are backfiring, killing healthy microscopic parasites that our bodies need to thrive.

Unlike people living in impoverished countries, where bug-ridden sacks of grain are commonly dealt with, we, with our clean, white processed bags of flour are nevertheless exclusive in our propensity for developing autoimmune diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD),Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and asthma.

Dish out the dirt.

The hygiene hypothesis implies that modern-day medical technology and sanitary standards, such as vaccines, antibiotics, purified water, and refrigeration have caused autoimmune disease by disturbing the body’s natural balance of healthy parasitic worms.

Worm therapy was part of standard medicine in previous centuries. So it comes as no surprise to supporters of the hygiene hypothesis that autoimmune diseases were nonexistent in earlier times, arriving on the medical scene only in recent years.

According to Dr. Joel Weinstock, chief of gastroenterology and professor of immunology at Tufts University, instances of IBD went up from 1 out of 10,000 in the 50s, to 1 out of 250 in modern days.

Open up and say…well, you might want to close your eyes.

Beginning in October 2011, research participants will volunteer to swallow pig whipworm eggs, as part of a study focusing on treating autoimmune disease. By introducing worms into the digestive systems, scientists hope to find a cure for digestive disorders. By the end of the year, the whipworm larvae will have passed through the intestines, and scientists hope to find enough evidence to further the advancement of worm therapy for immunological diseases.